Washington: Air travel disruptions across the United States are expected to persist well into Sunday, as thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed as airlines struggle to restore normal operations following a nationwide shutdown caused by problems in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) air traffic control communications system.
FAA chief Bryan Bedford said on Saturday (local time) that flight schedules were unlikely to return to normal until late Sunday, even as the agency continued working to stabilise operations and resolve the technical problems responsible for the widespread disruption.
According to aviation tracking website FlightAware, airlines had cancelled more than 6,150 flights and delayed over 7,300 others across the United States by 6.45 p.m. ET (2345 GMT) on Saturday.
The disruption followed an even more severe day on Friday, when approximately 9,200 flights were cancelled and another 7,500 faced delays. Meanwhile, more than 530 flights scheduled for Sunday had also been cancelled by Saturday evening.
Bedford apologised to passengers affected by the widespread disruption, assuring them that the country’s aviation system remained stable. He also said the FAA was working to restore normal operations and expected flight services to largely recover by late Sunday.
The continuing disruption has left thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country, while airlines are facing the additional challenge of repositioning aircraft, pilots and other crew members to resume their regular flight schedules.
The crisis began on Friday after the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop, bringing almost all departing flights across the country to a halt for nearly five hours.
The suspension marked the longest nationwide interruption of air travel since the September 11, 2001, attacks and resulted in one of the worst single days for air travel in the history of the United States.
The unprecedented disruption also prompted an emergency meeting at the White House, where officials gathered in the Situation Room to assess the situation and examine its possible causes.
Initially, authorities considered whether a cyberattack could have triggered the breakdown in the aviation system.
However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later said that the technical problem had been traced to the installation of at least one new router by FAA contractor L3Harris at a remote facility.
–IANS–
